Sunday, January 4, 2009
A wise old tree is born
Here are a few pictures of the wise old tree I painted today. It was a little daunting at first. The tree is a huge focal point to the room and it lay in my hands to create. Confidence ... that is all it took and once the first strokes were on the wall - viola - the wise old tree is born. It reminded me how much I enjoy painting in general. Most of the work is in the preparation -- mentally and supply wise. Acrylic paint comes concentrated and must be mixed/diluted to the desired consistency. I used old tupperware and soup containers to mix the two browns and sea sponge to add texture.
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Beginning of the End...
...not really but it is the start of the process of getting ready for the baby daddy position. I have ripped up the carpet, painted the trim, and put two coats on the wall. Next up will be hilary's job to add texture and depth to the sky and hills. She will also be bringing to life the tree (which is the blank spot next to the window).
After the painting is all done I will be laying down hardwood floor. No, we didn't buy it for the baby we had already purchased the floor before we found out we were pregnant.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Goodbye 2008 --> Happy New Year 2009
This has been quite a year ...
We brought in 2009 with our friends John and Ashley watching Dick Clarks Rockin New Years Eve on mute and listening to live Greg Allman on Sirius Satellite. TJ bought me sparkling white grape juice to toast. How sweet. We ate ourselves silly on grilled jumbo shrimp, streamed clams and pan seared scallops. TJ mentioned it is good luck to eat seafood to bring in the new year.
2008 was a year of ups and downs. From the passing of two wonderful special people in our lives, my uncle Michael and TJ's mother Donna to the announcement of my sister Lara to be married and our little miracle.
TJ already blogged about the baby shower his mother hosted in September.
In November two good friends threw me a baby shower. Barb and Leslie prepared yummy treats and invited my other friends from the area. WIth lots of ohhs and awes from the cute tiny little clothes it was a fun time. Barb even prepared the boys zone for the guys in the garage. Even before we got pregnant our friend Amy had a gift picked out. Jazzy toes ... sandals style. Cute and funny!
We are blessed with a great network of friends and family.
Tj and I start our birthing class on Monday. Pillows, blanket and water bottle ... "hee-hee-hooo" here we come!
We look forward to the new year and keeping in touch with all of you.
We brought in 2009 with our friends John and Ashley watching Dick Clarks Rockin New Years Eve on mute and listening to live Greg Allman on Sirius Satellite. TJ bought me sparkling white grape juice to toast. How sweet. We ate ourselves silly on grilled jumbo shrimp, streamed clams and pan seared scallops. TJ mentioned it is good luck to eat seafood to bring in the new year.
2008 was a year of ups and downs. From the passing of two wonderful special people in our lives, my uncle Michael and TJ's mother Donna to the announcement of my sister Lara to be married and our little miracle.
TJ already blogged about the baby shower his mother hosted in September.
In November two good friends threw me a baby shower. Barb and Leslie prepared yummy treats and invited my other friends from the area. WIth lots of ohhs and awes from the cute tiny little clothes it was a fun time. Barb even prepared the boys zone for the guys in the garage. Even before we got pregnant our friend Amy had a gift picked out. Jazzy toes ... sandals style. Cute and funny!
We are blessed with a great network of friends and family.
Tj and I start our birthing class on Monday. Pillows, blanket and water bottle ... "hee-hee-hooo" here we come!
We look forward to the new year and keeping in touch with all of you.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The last week or so...
After mom's funeral we headed back to my parents house to socialize with everyone that came. We had a ton of food that everyone was generous enough to bring over for us plus we bought some to host. The next day dad kicked around outside and blew some leaves around. Hilary said he just probably needed some white noise. While he was doing that Grandma Ucciardi (nicknamed Hazel) decided to clean the entire house. I helped out scrubbing and I also cleaned out the coolers and organized the garage. (whew what a task)
Hilary and I drove back home Tuesday night to sleep in our bed. What a great feeling to be gone from home for so long then you tuck yourself into your comfy bed. On Christmas eve Dad came to my house and picked me and the dogs up. We headed to my brothers place in Dumfries, VA (just about 45 min north of me). Hilary had to work and drove up afterwards.
Christmas Eve dinner consisted of Parmesan encrusted scallops, ahi tuna, crab dip, shrimp and crab spring rolls, and shrimp hominy soup. Then we played some Wii bowling and went to bed early after seeing Notre Dame woop Hawaii.
Christmas was exciting to see Seth and Sean (Brians Kids) tear into presents. Seth is 4 and was excited about every present even Seany B's presents. Seany B is only 1 and had more fun playing in the paper than with his gifts. Hilary and I didn't do presents this year because of our little present that is coming in Feburary but I did give her the clap. No not the disease but the clapper. You know, "Clap on .. Clap off .. Clap on Clap off the Clapper". She has been having a hard time rolling over because of the baby belly. So it is great to turn off the lights. Oh and Brian got us season passes to Kings Dominion since it is only 15 minutes away. So we are down if anyone wants to go this year.
Later on we headed over to Hilary's sisters Kim's house for Christmas Part II. Basically for dinner and a penny poker game. We drank, laughed, bluffed, and got really really full over there. She made this awesome pork loin topped with prosciutto and herbs. After the poker game we played Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii with her boys. I'm not to bad at the beginner level but I tried on hard and there is no way anybody can do that.
The days after Christmas dad and I started to tear down our guest bedroom and turn it into a nursery. First we layed some plywood down in my attic space to store boxes. Then we ripped up all the carpet, padding, and staples. We made several trips to the dump and loaded up one of our sheds with a lot of goodwill items. As we were doing this hilary was nesting in the kitchen. Cleaning and organizing all of our items. After our hard work on Friday we took dad out for some PHO Soup and Vietnamese food (hilary's favorite) then off to see Valkyrie (tom cruises new movie) not bad. The next night we stayed home ordered in and watched a double feature of Hancock and Tropic Thunder (Tropic Thunder is hilarious).
After Dad left on Sunday I laid around and watched football and Hilary slept on the couch. The last couple of days I have been painting the babies room and I feel like I am in Suessville. I will post pictures when I am done with all the work.
Sorry for the long posts but it has been a couple of days
Hilary and I drove back home Tuesday night to sleep in our bed. What a great feeling to be gone from home for so long then you tuck yourself into your comfy bed. On Christmas eve Dad came to my house and picked me and the dogs up. We headed to my brothers place in Dumfries, VA (just about 45 min north of me). Hilary had to work and drove up afterwards.
Christmas Eve dinner consisted of Parmesan encrusted scallops, ahi tuna, crab dip, shrimp and crab spring rolls, and shrimp hominy soup. Then we played some Wii bowling and went to bed early after seeing Notre Dame woop Hawaii.
Christmas was exciting to see Seth and Sean (Brians Kids) tear into presents. Seth is 4 and was excited about every present even Seany B's presents. Seany B is only 1 and had more fun playing in the paper than with his gifts. Hilary and I didn't do presents this year because of our little present that is coming in Feburary but I did give her the clap. No not the disease but the clapper. You know, "Clap on .. Clap off .. Clap on Clap off the Clapper". She has been having a hard time rolling over because of the baby belly. So it is great to turn off the lights. Oh and Brian got us season passes to Kings Dominion since it is only 15 minutes away. So we are down if anyone wants to go this year.
Later on we headed over to Hilary's sisters Kim's house for Christmas Part II. Basically for dinner and a penny poker game. We drank, laughed, bluffed, and got really really full over there. She made this awesome pork loin topped with prosciutto and herbs. After the poker game we played Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii with her boys. I'm not to bad at the beginner level but I tried on hard and there is no way anybody can do that.
The days after Christmas dad and I started to tear down our guest bedroom and turn it into a nursery. First we layed some plywood down in my attic space to store boxes. Then we ripped up all the carpet, padding, and staples. We made several trips to the dump and loaded up one of our sheds with a lot of goodwill items. As we were doing this hilary was nesting in the kitchen. Cleaning and organizing all of our items. After our hard work on Friday we took dad out for some PHO Soup and Vietnamese food (hilary's favorite) then off to see Valkyrie (tom cruises new movie) not bad. The next night we stayed home ordered in and watched a double feature of Hancock and Tropic Thunder (Tropic Thunder is hilarious).
After Dad left on Sunday I laid around and watched football and Hilary slept on the couch. The last couple of days I have been painting the babies room and I feel like I am in Suessville. I will post pictures when I am done with all the work.
Sorry for the long posts but it has been a couple of days
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The time has come
Just wanted to let everyone know that my mother passed away today Dec 18, 2008 around 11:35 a.m. Its been a long road and maybe a month too long but Donna Maria Abernathy Ucciardi has moved on to her final resting place.
She was born on Sept. 11, 1944
I will keep you informed on any arrangements made. Hilary, Nellie, Percy, and I are heading down to Virginia Beach tonight.
She was born on Sept. 11, 1944
I will keep you informed on any arrangements made. Hilary, Nellie, Percy, and I are heading down to Virginia Beach tonight.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Final Chapter
We started to see signs at my cousin Chad's wedding in late May. My mother started to get winded all the time doing simple things. She had been working really hard to get her childhood home in Haw River, NC cleaned up for her family (Vince, Brian, Trish, Seth, Sean, TJ and Hilary) to come and visit during Chad's wedding. The house is on the same property that the family sand and stone company is located. My grandfather started this company after he decided he didn't want to be a brick mason for the rest of his life. When he passed away my Uncle Buster (Chad's Dad) took it over. While running the business from an outside office the occasionally come into the house to use the bathroom and kitchen area. My mother wanted this house to be spotless for all of her family so she spent a couple of weeks in May cleaning the house.
During the wedding my mom looked great until she got on the dance floor and got her breathing out of control. She sat down and ended up going back to the house early. She spent another couple of weeks down in Haw River with my dad's cousin Vita. She was really excited spending this time with Vita. She was proud to show Vita where she came from. While staying out the house many family members, friends, and extended family members stopped in to say hello. The house was alive again and Mom was happy.
However, happy times started to turn into troubled times. When she made it back to Virginia Beach she went to the doctors to check out why she was getting winded all the time. We all feel Mom already knew what the doctor was going to say. Her lungs were starting to fill up with fluid again. I say again because back in 2000 this happened once before and she had to get her lungs tapped and drained. She stated that this procedure was the most excruciating pain she has ever felt. So needless to say she was nervous to have this procedure again. On a side note at the same time my father had to get his shoulder operated on because of torn rotator cuff. Mom would not get her procedure done until my father had his surgery because she was worried he wouldn't get it done if something happened to her. She still was trying to take care of everyone else even though she couldn't even walk up the stairs without being out of breath. So dad got his surgery and he recovered at the house. Now Mom is ready to have her procedure done.
After a vacation with my wife and her sister's family at my parents Outer Banks beach house I went home to stay with mom and dad. I took mom to her lung procedure and she could barely walk from the car to the check in area before losing her breath. I was really nervous because when checking in my mom handed her living will over to the nurse. I didn't think this procedure could be life ending for my mother but she did. So we made it to the waiting room and once she was in a bed I went back to hang out with her. My mom is like a celebrity in the hospital. She had nurses she hadn't seen in years coming up to her and chatting with her. You must understand my mom had been dealing with cancer for over 20 years. She has made a lot of connections with medical personal from all over the Hampton Roads area. Finally the Dr. came in and was ready to start, the curtain closed and I left the area. It only lasted 10 minutes and I went back in. They had taken 1 and half liters of fluid from my mothers lungs!!! And they could have taken more but the limited was 1 and a half because they didn't want her to have a collapsed lung. She stated that the procedure was nothing like the first one at all. There was little to no pain involved. What a relief!
That happened July 23rd, 2008. About every 2 weeks after that she had to go through the same procedure. Finally her body started to tell her it has had enough. Around the middle of August she went into the hospital. We went down to visit with her this is when we found out her blood pressure was really bad and was like 60/40. However, while in the hospital her blood pressure jumped back up. During that visit we were back at the house and my dad asked my brother and I to come upstairs he had something he wanted to show us. He had nothing to show us he just wanted to tell us that Mom had made the decision to go into hospice care. The cancer has spread to her lungs and was on the move around her body. Her kidneys were starting to fail. There were really no options for her but to go into hospice care. She could continue to go to the hospital to get her lungs tapped to keep her comfortable. My moms biggest thing when making this decision was that she wanted dignity.
From the end of August until the end of September pretty much mom did everything she did before. She could walk with a cane move around the house with ease. She had oxygen and a pain pump attached to her but she seemed to be fine. She had a lot of family and friends come by and visit with her. But by the end of September she had what we call an incident. I was in Las Vegas attending my buddies wedding. My brother was in Virginia Beach with mom. By this weekend she was using a walker. On Saturday night she was trying to get up and fell over luckily my brother caught her and lifted her up almost pulling his back out. He got her in bed and gave her a couple of boosts in her pain medications because she was really out of breath. The next couple of days she was not right. She was very disoriented and her body wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain. The family thought this was the end and called me up when I was departing Las Vegas and told me to come home once I landed. When I got home she was out of it but by the next day she had perked up and was her same old self. She had lost a couple of days and didn't know what happened but seemed to rebound from this incident.
The month of October was a pretty much stable month for my mom. Don't get me wrong she was not doing great by the end of the month she was not able to stay out of bed very long with out getting tired. She was coherent and could keep up with everything going on. She also wanted to host a baby shower for my wife. So the first weekend of November she hosted a baby shower for Hilary. Carla (Really close family friend) and Trish (Sister in Law) helped organize and put on the shower. My mom stayed in her room and came out when everyone was there to hang out for a couple of hours. This took a lot out of my mom but like a said before she always worries about everyone else before she worries about herself. This was the last coherent weekend my mother had.
The month of November has been a rough month for my family. To watch this smart, strong, loving woman deteriorate has been extremely emotional for everyone. She has very few moments of clarity. As the month grew to an end so did her eating. Every couple of days she might want a bite of a Wendy's Frosty or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream but that is it a bite or two. Also in this month mom has been very uncomfortable due to a bed sore near her tailbone. She also doesn't get out of the bed anymore. Maybe she will turn off to the side and sit on the edge but that is all.
December hasn't been any better. My mother is no longer in this world she doesn't know anything going on around her and her pain medicine has been increased so that she will sleep longer if not all day. My dad has been with her everyday now and it has had its affect on him. He is ready for my mom to move on. I think we have all accepted that and all want her to move on. She would never want to be like this. No one would ever want to be like this.
I will keep you posted on her Final Chapter...Thanks for listening
During the wedding my mom looked great until she got on the dance floor and got her breathing out of control. She sat down and ended up going back to the house early. She spent another couple of weeks down in Haw River with my dad's cousin Vita. She was really excited spending this time with Vita. She was proud to show Vita where she came from. While staying out the house many family members, friends, and extended family members stopped in to say hello. The house was alive again and Mom was happy.
However, happy times started to turn into troubled times. When she made it back to Virginia Beach she went to the doctors to check out why she was getting winded all the time. We all feel Mom already knew what the doctor was going to say. Her lungs were starting to fill up with fluid again. I say again because back in 2000 this happened once before and she had to get her lungs tapped and drained. She stated that this procedure was the most excruciating pain she has ever felt. So needless to say she was nervous to have this procedure again. On a side note at the same time my father had to get his shoulder operated on because of torn rotator cuff. Mom would not get her procedure done until my father had his surgery because she was worried he wouldn't get it done if something happened to her. She still was trying to take care of everyone else even though she couldn't even walk up the stairs without being out of breath. So dad got his surgery and he recovered at the house. Now Mom is ready to have her procedure done.
After a vacation with my wife and her sister's family at my parents Outer Banks beach house I went home to stay with mom and dad. I took mom to her lung procedure and she could barely walk from the car to the check in area before losing her breath. I was really nervous because when checking in my mom handed her living will over to the nurse. I didn't think this procedure could be life ending for my mother but she did. So we made it to the waiting room and once she was in a bed I went back to hang out with her. My mom is like a celebrity in the hospital. She had nurses she hadn't seen in years coming up to her and chatting with her. You must understand my mom had been dealing with cancer for over 20 years. She has made a lot of connections with medical personal from all over the Hampton Roads area. Finally the Dr. came in and was ready to start, the curtain closed and I left the area. It only lasted 10 minutes and I went back in. They had taken 1 and half liters of fluid from my mothers lungs!!! And they could have taken more but the limited was 1 and a half because they didn't want her to have a collapsed lung. She stated that the procedure was nothing like the first one at all. There was little to no pain involved. What a relief!
That happened July 23rd, 2008. About every 2 weeks after that she had to go through the same procedure. Finally her body started to tell her it has had enough. Around the middle of August she went into the hospital. We went down to visit with her this is when we found out her blood pressure was really bad and was like 60/40. However, while in the hospital her blood pressure jumped back up. During that visit we were back at the house and my dad asked my brother and I to come upstairs he had something he wanted to show us. He had nothing to show us he just wanted to tell us that Mom had made the decision to go into hospice care. The cancer has spread to her lungs and was on the move around her body. Her kidneys were starting to fail. There were really no options for her but to go into hospice care. She could continue to go to the hospital to get her lungs tapped to keep her comfortable. My moms biggest thing when making this decision was that she wanted dignity.
From the end of August until the end of September pretty much mom did everything she did before. She could walk with a cane move around the house with ease. She had oxygen and a pain pump attached to her but she seemed to be fine. She had a lot of family and friends come by and visit with her. But by the end of September she had what we call an incident. I was in Las Vegas attending my buddies wedding. My brother was in Virginia Beach with mom. By this weekend she was using a walker. On Saturday night she was trying to get up and fell over luckily my brother caught her and lifted her up almost pulling his back out. He got her in bed and gave her a couple of boosts in her pain medications because she was really out of breath. The next couple of days she was not right. She was very disoriented and her body wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain. The family thought this was the end and called me up when I was departing Las Vegas and told me to come home once I landed. When I got home she was out of it but by the next day she had perked up and was her same old self. She had lost a couple of days and didn't know what happened but seemed to rebound from this incident.
The month of October was a pretty much stable month for my mom. Don't get me wrong she was not doing great by the end of the month she was not able to stay out of bed very long with out getting tired. She was coherent and could keep up with everything going on. She also wanted to host a baby shower for my wife. So the first weekend of November she hosted a baby shower for Hilary. Carla (Really close family friend) and Trish (Sister in Law) helped organize and put on the shower. My mom stayed in her room and came out when everyone was there to hang out for a couple of hours. This took a lot out of my mom but like a said before she always worries about everyone else before she worries about herself. This was the last coherent weekend my mother had.
The month of November has been a rough month for my family. To watch this smart, strong, loving woman deteriorate has been extremely emotional for everyone. She has very few moments of clarity. As the month grew to an end so did her eating. Every couple of days she might want a bite of a Wendy's Frosty or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream but that is it a bite or two. Also in this month mom has been very uncomfortable due to a bed sore near her tailbone. She also doesn't get out of the bed anymore. Maybe she will turn off to the side and sit on the edge but that is all.
December hasn't been any better. My mother is no longer in this world she doesn't know anything going on around her and her pain medicine has been increased so that she will sleep longer if not all day. My dad has been with her everyday now and it has had its affect on him. He is ready for my mom to move on. I think we have all accepted that and all want her to move on. She would never want to be like this. No one would ever want to be like this.
I will keep you posted on her Final Chapter...Thanks for listening
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